National Drug Intelligence Center

Title:

Delaware Drug Threat Assessment

Document ID: 2002-S0379DE-001

Archived on: January 1, 2006.
This document may contain
dated information. It remains available to provide
access to historical materials.

This report is a strategic assessment that addresses the status and
outlook of the drug threat to Delaware.
Analytical judgment determined the threat posed by each drug type or
category, taking into account the most current quantitative and
qualitative information on availability, demand, production or
cultivation, transportation, and distribution, as well as the effects of a
particular drug on abusers and society as a whole. While NDIC sought to
incorporate the latest available information, a time lag often exists
between collection and publication of data, particularly demand-related
data sets. NDIC anticipates that this drug threat assessment will be
useful to policymakers, law enforcement personnel, and treatment providers
at the federal, state, and local levels because it draws upon a broad
range of information sources to describe and analyze the drug threat to
Delaware.

Your questions, comments, and suggestions for future
subjects are welcome at any time. Addresses are
provided at the end of the page.

The distribution and abuse of illegal drugs in Delaware pose a serious
threat to public security. Low cost, high purity heroin is being
distributed and abused at an alarming rate, particularly among teenagers
and young adults, making it the state's primary drug threat. Cocaine is
readily available, frequently abused, and its distribution and abuse are
associated with more violent crime than any other drug in the state.
Marijuana is the most readily available and widely abused drug, but its
distribution and abuse are not commonly associated with violent crime.
MDMA poses a growing threat as abuse levels increase throughout the state.
Methamphetamine is available and abused but poses only a minimal threat
when compared with that from other illicit drugs.

Heroin, primarily South American, poses the greatest drug threat to
Delaware. High purity, low cost heroin is readily available in the state,
and the reported rate of heroin abuse among teenagers and young adults is
close to the abuse rate for alcohol, the primary substance abused in the
state. The number of new abusers, particularly teenagers and young adults,
has increased dramatically. Delaware had the fifth highest rate of
heroin-related treatmentadmissions to publicly
funded facilities in the nation in 1999. The total annual number of
heroin-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities was
almost twice that of cocaine from 1999 through 2000. Wholesale
distribution of heroin in Delaware is extremely rare. Local independent
Caucasian dealers are the dominant heroin transporters and retail
distributors. These dealers usually purchase multiounce and gram
quantities of the drug from Dominican criminal groups and street gangs
based in Philadelphia and transport the heroin to Delaware for
distribution.

Cocaine is the second greatest drug threat to Delaware. Powdered
cocaine and crack cocaine are readily available and commonly abused, and
their distribution and abuse are more commonly associated with violent
crime than any other drug in the state. Delaware had the fourth highest
rate of cocaine-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities
in the nation in 1999. The total annual number of cocaine-related
treatment admissions has remained relatively stable, ranking second to
heroin since 1996. The number of cocaine-related federal sentences in
Delaware far surpassed the number for all other drug-related federal
sentences combined every year from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year
2000. Local independent African American and Caucasian dealers and
Hispanic street gangs are the primary transporters of cocaine into and
throughout Delaware. They purchase powdered cocaine, commonly in kilogram
quantities, primarily from Dominican and Jamaican criminal groups in New
York City and Philadelphia and, to a lesser extent, in Baltimore, Miami,
and Washington, D.C., among other locations. Local independent Caucasian
dealers are the primary wholesale and retail distributors of powdered
cocaine in the state. Local independent African American dealers and
Hispanic street gangs are the primary retail distributors of
crack--wholesale distribution is rare, except in certain sections of
Wilmington.

Marijuana is the most readily available, widely abused, and least
expensive illicit drug in Delaware. However, the drug poses a lower threat
than heroin or cocaine in part because its distribution and abuse are not
commonly associated with violent crime. Reported rates of marijuana abuse
among high school students in Delaware are high and increasing. Jamaican
criminal groups are the dominant transporters and wholesale and retail
distributors of Mexico-produced marijuana and marijuana produced by
Mexican criminal groups based in Arizona, California, and Texas. They
commonly transport marijuana to Delaware using package delivery services
and couriers. Local independent Caucasian and African American dealers and
Hispanic street gangs distribute wholesale and retail quantities of
marijuana in Delaware. Locally grown cannabis is increasingly available
but remains less prevalent.

MDMA poses a growing threat to Delaware. MDMA is increasingly available
and abused by teenagers and young adults. The quantity of MDMA seized in
Delaware increased dramatically from 1999 through 2000. Local independent
Caucasian dealers, usually college age students, purchase MDMA tablets
from criminal groups based in Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and
Washington, D.C., and distribute the drug at raves, house parties, bars,
and on college campuses.

Methamphetamine is available and abused in Delaware; it is not yet a
serious problem although it is a growing concern. Methamphetamine is not
as commonly available and abused as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or MDMA.
Most methamphetamine available in Delaware is produced in Pennsylvania
using primarily the phenyl-2-propanone (P2P) method. However,
methamphetamine produced in western states using the hydriodic acid/red
phosphorus method increasingly is available. Local independent Caucasian
dealers and criminal groups and members of the Pagans outlaw motorcycle
gang are the primary wholesale and retail distributors of methamphetamine
in the state.